Vondrousova becomes 1st unseeded Wimbledon champion
Published : 16 Jul 2023, 02:04
Updated : 16 Jul 2023, 02:42
Ranked only 42nd in the world and with just a single main draw win in her previous four appearances at Wimbledon, Marketa Vondrousova caused quite the stir in the tennis world. She won seven consecutive matches to ultimately lift the Venus Rosewater Dish, reported Xinhua.
The Czech player triumphed over Tunisian sixth-seed Ons Jabeur in a 6-4, 6-4 showdown, that lasted one hour and 20 minutes, on Saturday. With this victory, she became the first unseeded player to clinch the women's singles title at the All England Club in the Open Era.
However, for Jabeur, it was her second loss in the final at Wimbledon and her third in Grand Slams overall. The 28-year-old previously fell to Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan here one year ago and then suffered another defeat to world No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the US Open two months later.
Jabeur, who was vying to become the first major winner from Africa, started the final robustly in the first set, breaking twice to secure a 4-2 lead. Yet, the world No. 6 made three consecutive unforced errors in the following game, enabling Vondrousova to score a forehand winner and break back.
With Jabeur still struggling to reduce her unforced errors, Vondrousova won four games in a row to take a one-set lead. Jabeur had 15 unforced errors in the first set, contrasted with only six from her opponent.
The second set was a tug-of-war - Jabeur surged to a 3-1 lead before Vondrousova battled back to level it at 3-3. A crucial break in the ninth game offered Vondrousova a chance. The former French Open finalist played with such composure during her service, converting her second match point to clinch the victory with a volley at the net.